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Starting an eCommerce business means navigating the vast world of online retail. To navigate successfully, you need clear key performance Indicators (KPIs).
In the context of eCommerce, KPIs give you insight into how well your store is performing and areas for improvement. These metrics encompass a broad range of data, from the percentage of visitors who become customers to the lifetime value of a customer to your brand.
Keep reading to understand which eCommerce KPIs are important to track and how to position your business for success.
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What are eCommerce KPIs?
Ecommerce KPIs are metrics that help you understand and benchmark the health of your online business. By keeping a close watch over these indicators, you can make more informed decisions—whether it involves tweaking your marketing strategies or improving customer service.
These KPIs will touch multiple aspects of your operations, including:
Online store performance
Manufacturing performance
Sales performance
Marketing performance
Customer service performance
Learn more: How to make an ecommerce website
47 eCommerce KPIs that may be worth monitoring
While you don’t necessarily need to track all of these metrics, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with them as they’re some of the most popular ones to track. There are hundreds of other metrics you could be tracking. However, these could give you a good starting point.
KPIs for online store performance
Your website is where business gets done. Unlike brick-and-mortar stores, where sales associates can interact with guests face to face, your online store is a place where people can enter anonymously at any time of the day. The below metrics can give you some much-needed visibility into what your customers are doing on your site and where they’re coming from.
01. Traffic
Website traffic refers to the total number of visits to your website. Traffic indicates the reach of your business online and the impact of your marketing strategies.
02. Top sources
Top channels refer to the channels generating the most traffic or engagement for a website, such as search engines, social media or referral sites. Knowing where your traffic is coming from is nearly as important as knowing who’s entering your site.
03. Organic vs. paid visitors
Organic site visitors are individuals who find your website through search engine results. In contrast, paid visitors come to your site through advertisements that you pay for (such as social media ads). Comparing these two audiences can help you see how reliant you are on paid versus unpaid marketing activities, though you’ll want to dig deeper to understand the quality of those visits.
04. New vs. returning visitors
New visitors are first-time visitors or buyers on your site, whereas returning visitors are people who’ve visited your site before. Viewing these two audiences together can indicate the effectiveness of your acquisition, plus retention, efforts.
05. Bounce rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate could indicate that the site is not engaging enough or does not meet visitors' expectations.
06. Average session duration
Average session duration is the average amount of time visitors spend on your site. Longer sessions can indicate more engaging content and a positive user experience.
07. Pages per session
Pages per session refers to the average number of pages viewed during a session on your site. A higher number suggests that users are more engaged and exploring your site more thoroughly.
08. Conversion rate (CR)
Conversion rate measures the percentage of site visitors who make a purchase or take another desired action (such as signing up for your newsletter). Calculate this by dividing the total number of conversions by the total number of visitors and multiplying that by 100.
09. Cart abandonment rate
Cart abandonment rate is the percentage of shoppers who add items to their cart but leave without completing their purchase. This points to potential issues in the checkout process or pricing. Calculate by dividing the total number of completed purchases by the number of shopping carts opened and multiplying that by 100.
Learn more: Strategies for abandoned cart recovery
10. Top exit pages
Top exit pages refer to the pages from which visitors are most likely to leave your site. This can highlight areas where the user experience may be lacking or where there are obstacles that block them from converting.
11. Search engine rankings for key terms
Search engine rankings refer to the positions of your web pages in search engine result pages when users search for specific keywords. The higher your rankings for key terms, the more visible your site pages (e.g., your homepage, product pages, blogs, etc.) are.
KPIs for manufacturing
Having visibility into your supply chain and manufacturing operations is crucial, no matter what type of eCommerce business you run. After all, these processes can have a big impact on your bottom line and customer satisfaction. In general, the metrics below can help you assess the efficiency of your operations and avoid costly errors.
12. Production volume
Production volume measures the total quantity of products manufactured within a specific time frame, indicating the capacity and efficiency of production operations.
13. Production downtime
Production downtime tracks the amount of time production was halted due to issues like equipment failure or maintenance. This highlights areas for improvement in operational efficiency.
14. Defect rate
Defect rate is the percentage of products with defects compared to the total production volume, indicating the quality of manufacturing processes. It’s calculated by dividing the number of defective products by the number of units tested and multiplying that by 100.
15. Cycle time
Cycle time is the total time taken to manufacture a single product, from start to finish, which helps in assessing production speed and efficiency.
16. Yield rate
Yield rate calculates the percentage of products manufactured correctly and to specifications on the first attempt. This measures the quality of the production process.
17. Supplier on-time delivery
Supplier on-time delivery shows the reliability of suppliers in delivering raw materials or components on time, which is crucial for maintaining uninterrupted production schedules
18. Inventory turnover rate
Inventory turnover rate measures how often inventory is sold and replaced over a period. This helps you gauge product demand, in addition to the efficiency of your inventory management. Calculate this by dividing the cost of goods sold (COGS) by the average inventory value for a specific period.
19. Product return rate
Product return rate is the percentage of products returned by customers. This can point to issues with product quality or customer satisfaction related to manufacturing.
20. Cost of goods sold (COGS)
Cost of goods sold represents the direct costs attributable to the production of the goods sold by your company, including materials and labor. Understanding COGS is essential for understanding profitability.
KPIs for sales
The right set of sales KPIs can offer insights into how effectively your business is reaching its targets, which strategies are driving success and what improvements need to be made. Given how quickly eCommerce moves, it’s important to stay on top of these numbers and address any challenges head-on.
21. Total sales revenue
Total sales revenues is the total income generated from online sales, after subtracting returns, discounts and any allowances for damaged or missing goods. It reflects the actual revenue that a company recognizes and records in its accounting books as a testament to your company's financial performance.
22. Gross merchandise volume (GMV)
GMV refers to the total value of merchandise sold over a certain time period through a particular platform or marketplace, before any deductions are made for costs or fees. It's a measure of the volume of goods sold, not how much money your company actually makes.
23. Gross profit margin
Gross profit margin tells you what percentage of the money from sales is left over after paying for the products or services you sold. It’s calculated by subtracting COGS from total revenue to find the gross profit, then dividing this gross profit by the total revenue.
24. Average order value (AOV)
Average order value is the average amount spent per transaction, which helps in understanding customer buying behaviors and the impact of your pricing strategies.
25. Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost is the total cost associated with acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses. This is crucial for understanding the ROI of your efforts.
26. Repeat customer rate
Repeat customer rate is the percentage of customers who have made more than one purchase, indicating customer loyalty and satisfaction.
27. Revenue per visitor (RPV)
Revenue per visitor reflects the average amount of money visitors spend on your website. It combines conversion rate with AOV to assess your website's overall efficiency in generating revenue.
28. Customer lifetime value (CLV)
Customer lifetime value predicts the total value your business can expect from a single customer account. This metric helps you understand how valuable a customer is to your company over time.
KPIs for marketing
Understanding the health and trajectory of your business requires more than just a cursory glance at your sales numbers. Marketing KPIs can help you dive deeper into each channel, campaign and strategy that might be affecting your growth.
29. Subscriber growth rate
Subscriber growth rate shows how quickly your email list is expanding over a specific period. You’ll want to dig into what’s driving this growth, and who’s actually subscribing.
30. Email engagement metrics
Email engagement metrics can include open rate, click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate. They help you evaluate the effectiveness of your email marketing experiments and campaigns.
31. Follower growth rate
Follower growth rate refers to how quickly your social media following is increasing. Checking the growth rate can help you track down what’s attracting people to your profile.
32. Social media engagement metrics
Social engagement metrics are intended to gauge interactions (likes, comments, shares, etc.) on your social channels. By tracking these, you can better identify what’s working and what’s note when you’re promoting your business.
33. Social share of voice (SSoV)
Social share of voice measures your brand's visibility and how much you're mentioned across social media platforms compared to your competitors. It reflects the level of brand awareness and market presence.
34. SMS (texting) marketing metrics
SMS marketing can include open rate, click-through rate and conversion rate. These ultimately show how effective your text messaging campaigns are in driving actions, such as making purchases or visiting your website.
35. Affiliate marketing metrics
Affiliate marketing metrics may include things like the number of sales, conversion rate and commission paid out to affiliates. They’re meant to evaluate the performance and profitability of affiliate partnerships.
36. Event marketing metrics
For webinars, workshops and other events, key metrics include registration numbers, attendance rate, engagement during the event and follow-up conversion rate to measure the event's impact.
37. PPC (pay-per-click) metrics
For ad campaigns on search engines and other platforms, cost per click, click-through rate and conversion rate can help you determine the ROI on your ad dollars.
KPIs for customer service
It’s hard to overstate the importance of customer service on brand loyalty. No matter how big or small your operation is today, it's essential to monitor KPIs that truly reflect the quality of service being delivered to your customers.
38. Net promoter score (NPS)
Net promoter score is an index that ranges from -100 to 100. It measures the willingness of customers to recommend your company's products or services to others.
39. Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
Customer satisfaction score measures customer satisfaction with a recent service interaction or purchase, typically through a survey asking customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale.
40. First response time
First response time is the average time it takes for your customer service team to respond to a customer inquiry or complaint for the first time. The lower the time, the better because it means that customers are waiting less time to receive an initial response.
41. Average resolution time
Average resolution time is the average amount of time it takes to fully resolve a customer's issue or inquiry from the moment it's reported. It reflects the efficiency of your customer service team in addressing and solving problems, directly impacting customer satisfaction and loyalty.
42. Customer effort score (CES)
A customer effort score evaluates the ease with which customers can get their issues resolved. Low-effort experiences are usually linked to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
43. Ticket volume
Ticket volume refers to the total number of customer service inquiries or issues reported in a given period. This number can help identify patterns, peak times and areas of your product or service that may need improvement.
44. Ticket backlog
Ticket backlog is the number of unresolved customer service tickets. This helps track your team’s workload and any potential delays in resolving customer issues.
45. Resolution rate
The resolution rate is the percentage of customer issues resolved on the first contact without the need for follow-up, demonstrating the effectiveness of your team in addressing problems quickly.
46. Churn rate
Churn rate is the percentage of customers who stop doing business with you over a certain period. A low churn rate indicates high customer retention, which is vital for sustained growth.
47. Escalation rate
Escalation rate is the percentage of issues that require raising up to a higher authority or department, indicating the complexity of problems and the potential need for additional training or resources.
How to implement KPIs in your eCommerce business strategy
To embrace the full power of your eCommerce KPIs, you need a structured approach to selecting and implementing them. Follow the steps below to set your business on the right track:
Identify your business goals. Before diving into data, clarify what you primarily want to achieve. Are you looking to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction or reduce costs? Your goals will determine which KPIs are most relevant at this moment.
Select the relevant eCommerce KPIs. Choose KPIs that directly reflect progress towards your goals. If increasing customer loyalty is the aim, focus on metrics like CLV and NPS.
Set benchmarks and targets. Determine what success looks like by setting benchmarks based on industry standards or past performance. Then, set realistic targets for improvement.
Use eCommerce KPIs templates and dashboards. Templates (such as pre-designed tools, spreadsheets or reports) can provide a starting point for tracking and automatically calculating key metrics. Ultimately, you’ll want to establish a dashboard that includes all of your essential KPIs and allows you to check on them regularly.
Regularly review and adjust. Continuously monitor your KPIs and compare them against your targets. Use this data to make informed decisions and tweak your strategy as needed.
The significance of KPIs on the growth of your eCommerce business
KPIs are like a GPS for your business. Whether you’re just starting a business or growing an existing one, these indicators help guide you toward your destination. More specifically, eCommerce KPIs can guide you on things like:
Customer acquisition: Knowing how much it costs to attract a new customer and which channels are most effective, for example, can point you in the right direction while saving you money and time.
Customer retention: By measuring repeat purchase rates and engagement, you can tailor your efforts to keep customers coming back.
Profit margin: Understanding your eCommerce profit margins helps in identifying areas where you can reduce costs or increase prices without losing customers.
Inventory management: By tracking turnover rates, defect rates and more—you can save yourself from common inventory management mistakes and keep more money in your pocket.
The above is not an exhaustive list—but each of these elements plays a pivotal role in sustaining and scaling your business. Without visibility into these things, you’ll be flying blind. You might be moving forward, but you won’t be sure of where you're headed or how fast you're getting there.
By focusing on the right KPIs, you can ensure that every decision made is informed by data that correlates with your business goals.
Examples of how eCommerce KPIs are used
Learning from real-world examples can be helpful if you’re not sure where to start. Here are some case studies that highlight how businesses have used eCommerce KPIs to drive growth and success:
A fashion retailer's turnaround: An online clothing brand was struggling with high customer acquisition costs and low retention rates. By focusing on improving their CLV and churn rate, they developed targeted marketing campaigns and loyalty programs that increased repeat purchases and reduced acquisition costs.
Tech gadgets store: A tech gadget eCommerce site noticed a stagnation in sales growth. They honed in on their conversion rate and discovered that many customers abandoned their carts due to high shipping costs. By adjusting their pricing strategy to offer free shipping after a certain purchase value, they saw a significant increase in completed transactions.
Beauty brand online: An organic skincare brand wanted to expand its market share. They tracked the net promoter score (NPS) to gauge customer satisfaction and implemented feedback mechanisms to improve product quality. As a result, their NPS improved, leading to more word-of-mouth referrals and a larger customer base.
Tools and platforms for tracking eCommerce KPIs
To effectively track and analyze your eCommerce KPIs, you need the right tools and platforms in your pocket to capture data and make sense of it. Here are some recommended tools that specialize in KPI tracking:
GA4: A powerful tool that offers a wealth of data on website traffic, conversion rates, customer behavior and more. GA4 is best used for understanding how users interact with your site.
Wix Analytics: For those using Wix to host their online store, Wix Analytics provides tailored insights into your website performance, including traffic, sales trends and customer behaviors.
Klaviyo: This is a marketing automation platform that excels in tracking customer interactions and can help you measure the effectiveness of email campaigns as well as SMS campaigns in terms of sales and engagement.